Described herein are a putting trainer and, more specifically, a convenient, pocket-sized, putting trainer that may be suitable for use on smooth surfaces.
Golf is a sport whose origins extend back many hundreds and possibly thousands of years. While it is known that the modern game of golf originated in Scotland during the 15th century, some claim the sport derives from the first century BC, when the Romans played a game called paganica, in which players tried to hit a stuffed leather ball with bent sticks. Other historians cite the Chinese game of chuiwan, played between the 8th and 14th centuries. Chuiwan means “to strike a small ball.” Other potential origins of golf include the games of cambuca (England), chambot (France), chaugán (Persia) and kolven (the Netherlands).
The first written record of the game of golf occurred in 1457 with the banning of the game by James II. In 1502, James IV lifted the ban and became a golfer himself. According to The Scottish Golf Book, the ground on the east coast of Scotland was perfect for golf, with mile upon mile of links, as the land was known, gently undulating and covered in springy turf. The Musselburgh Links in East Lothian, Scotland, is certified by the Guinness World Records as the oldest golf course in the world.
The Society of St. Andrews Golfers, a local golf club playing at the links at St. Andrews, was founded in 1754. In 1764, St. Andrews reduced the number of holes on their golf course from 22 to 18. An 18 hole golf course soon became the standard for golf courses.
Two Scotsmen from Dunfermline, school friends John Reid and Robert Lockhart, are credited with introducing golf to the U.S. Robert Lockhart, while in Scotland, ordered six golf clubs and two dozen balls from a shop near St. Andrews to bring to his friend John Reid. John Reid, during an early February thaw in 1888, set up a three hole course in a cow pasture across from his house in Yonkers, N.Y. From these humble beginnings, Reid, with some friends, formed the St. Andrews Golf Club, the first in the United States and named after the famed Scottish golfing site.
The United States Golf Association (USGA), formed in 1894, is an association of golf courses, clubs, and facilities and is the governing body of golf for the United States and Mexico. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews (the “R&A”) is currently the ruling authority of golf throughout the world except the United States and Mexico.
Today, roughly 60 million players worldwide play golf, and golf is considered one of the most widely played sports in the world. In the U.S., 26 million people play golf at approximately 15,000 golf facilities. And the numbers of people playing golf are growing. Golfers today tend to be younger, with more women taking up the sport.
Golf, at its very core, involves hitting a golf ball, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,078, U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,255, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,803 (the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference), with a club, from a tee position to a greens position and into a cup. Golf is scored based on the total number of shots required to move the ball from the tee into the cup on the green.
As with any sport, golfers always want to improve their game. There are weight training programs directed to golfers. Instructional golf DVDs can be watched and golf books can be read. Magazines, from general interest publications such as Golf Digest or Golf Magazine to magazines that target a specific type of golfer such as African American Golfer's Digest or Women & Golf can be subscribed to. All kinds of golf training aids can be purchased that help with every aspect of the golf game, everything from balls to tees, shoes to gloves, range finders and swing analyzers, bags and carts and clubs of all kinds, not to mention practice devices to help golfers drive, chip, and putt like a pro. According to the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA), consumers spend approximately $3.5 billion on golf equipment every year and the golf economy, including facility operations, golfer supplies, endorsements, tournaments, associations, charities, and golf course capital investment is estimated to be about $70 billion.
There are mechanical devices that have been patented that purport to help develop or improve a golfer's game. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,904,624 to Martinez (the “Martinez reference”) is directed to a golf putting training device that includes a “U” shaped grip support having a lower grip arm with strap for wrapping around a lower portion of a golf putter grip and an upper grip arm for engaging a butt end on an upper portion of the golf putter grip. The device engages the forearms of the golfer and locks the forearms in place to prevent movement during the putting stroke. Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,949 to Nottoli (the “Nottoli reference”) that is directed to a golf training device that includes a golf putter club, a guide rail, and a trolley that rolls on wheels engaged with the guide rail. The trolley includes hinge plates contacted together by hinge pins that allow a rocking action and a lifting action by the hinge plates, which in turn allow the club to move in an arc to stroke the ball in a straight line to a target. Yet another example is U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,414 to Nunez (the “Nunez reference”) that is directed to a device for aligning a golfer's dominant eye with a golf ball and cup. The Nunez device includes a mask that covers the golfer's non-dominant eye and has an opening therein located and sized for allowing the dominant eye to view both the ball and the cup. A weighted cord is attached to the mask in the line of sight of the dominant eye for enabling the dominant eye to be vertically aligned over or behind a golf ball for proper alignment in the act of putting. Another example is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,267 to Roe (the “Roe reference”). The Roe golf putting trainer includes two parallel elongated members connected by a connecting member. A target is in a slidable relationship with the connecting member such that the target is positioned between the first elongated member and the second elongated member. The golfer must put precisely or the putter blade will strike one or both of the elongated members.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,357,705 to Blanchard, U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,720 to Gordos, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,546 to Masters describe training devices that have a pair of spherical members (e.g. balls) joined by a flexible or rigid connecting rod. The goal of these and other similar devices is to provide an apparatus for practicing golf ball driving or putting. If the club head contacts one ball before it contacts the other ball, the devices will move in a curved line. However, if both balls are struck at precisely the same time, the ball members will move forward in a straight line.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,254 to Simjian and U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,757 to Simjian (jointly referred to as the “Simjian references”) describe devices that function in a manner similar to the pair of spherical members joined by a connecting rod. The Simjian references describe golf putting devices that include a set of wheels connected to an actual or simulated golf ball. When the outer wheels of the Simjian devices are struck simultaneously by a putter, the device is propelled forward along a straight path. If only one wheel of the device is struck by a putter, the device will be propelled along a curved path.
Another type of training device is a specially designed golf putter that has a club head or attachment with a recess sized and adapted to receive a golf ball. U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,955 to Middleton, U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,688 to Hale, U.S. Pat. No. 8,162,773 to Pingalore, U.S. Design Pat. No. D631,523 to Pingalore, all described devices that improve the putting stroke of a golfer using a putter as a training device. AccuRoll at InTheHoleGolf.com describes an alignment device that is affixed to the face of a putter and, by putting the golf ball inside the alignment device, the user receives feedback on his stroke path, as the ball will only be released straight towards the target if his is putting on the target line. Circle of Trust-Broken Tee Custom Golf, LLC describes a device that is attached to a putter and a golf ball is inserted into the hole in the center to assist in a straight putter stroke path. GolfTrainingAids.com Square Triangle may be used to self-diagnose alignment tendencies and correct and improve a golfer's stroke, and Ever Square that helps train one's eye to line the putt up straighter.